Raring to Go

Having a pan-Sultanate footprint within just 17 years of its inception, the Dhofar Insurance Company SAOG has come a long way and is bracing to face the competition that’s heating up in Oman’s insurance market, reports Sunil Kumar Singh and Zuhair Al Arabi

Ask Rawni Khadr, VP (Development & Marketing) Dhofar Insurance Company SAOG, about what defines the mission of his company and pat comes the reply, “The company’s social mission is to operate in a way that it actively recognises the central role business plays in society — by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally.” For the last 17 years, Dhofar Insurance Company SAOG has lived up to its mission by gradually expanding its footprints and venturing into a number of sectors. And the result is obvious — today it’s the largest insurer in the Sultanate, with total assets exceeding RO 30 million, a capital base of whopping RO 17,500,000 and the premium income reaching to a staggering RO37 million by 2005, grabbing over 50 per cent pie of the market premium segment. In fact, superlatives and Dhofar Insurance Company today make perfect bedfellows. Take a look — it has the largest capital base, largest reserves, largest premium turnover, largest number of employees, largest number of branches and has consistently paid out the largest number of claims in Oman.

The Beginning
For Dhofar Insurance having begun its sojourn in September 1989 as a joint stock company with an initial paid-up capital of RO 3,000,000 was akin to treading a risk-ridden path in an underdeveloped insurance market like that of Oman. But the company management and its shareholders dared to face the challenge head on. With 32 branches spreading all across the Sultanate, and three more in the pipeline, this insurance behemoth today provides insurance, re-insurance and underwriting services covering sectors such as power generation, chemical industry, mining operations, energy, oil & petroleum, marine insurance, travel insurance, motor insurance, personal accident, employee insurance and construction insurance. Comments Taher Bin Taleb Kamal Al-Heraki, company’s CEO and director, on the company’s pan-Sultanate ubiquity, “Today the company is identified in every region of the country, right from the major cities and Wilayats to the remotest areas. A unique, round-the-clock service is available at all the Royal Oman Police border check posts on the UAE and Yemen borders.” In the last 17 years, the company has inked business partnerships with leading re-insurance companies in the US, Far East and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) regions that have helped it a lot in initiating re-insurance services and safeguarding its interests against a number of risks. Heraki believes these partnerships have contributed to increasing the company’s yields and meeting its financial obligations.

Keeping Pace with the Times
The fact that Oman’s insurance sector is undergoing transformation with new players entering the market in a more liberalised environment has not gone off the radar from Dhofar Insurance company’s strategies. As a counter shield to competition, the company has firmed up its capital base, like other national insurance companies to face the competition. Further, to keep pace with the times, the company keeps updating its services, developing its human resources to a new level and introducing the latest range of insurance services in the market. The company’s management claims it always conducts rigorous researches within the parameters of rules and regulations before taking any decision that affects its customers. As Heraki sums it up, “The company is committed to providing high quality insurance services against all the risks.”

Employees Matter
The company attributes the increase in its capital base as a direct result of bonus shares and increased investment and it has issued dividends every year since its incision. Even though the insurance penetration in Oman is relatively low at less than two per cent, the Dhofar Insurance managed to bag insurance premium income amounting to the staggering RO37 million by 2005, and is anticipating increase this year by 20 per cent. When asked to comment on this impressive growth, Rawni replied, “The company’s economic objective is to operate on a sustainable financial basis for profitable growth, increasing value for stakeholders and expanding opportunities for the development and career growth for its employees.”

From the number of employees being seven in 1989 to 295 at present, the company has managed well on the Omanisation front too with Omanis constituting 75 per cent of the company’s workforce — even 100 per cent in some branches. Its successful Omanisation plan has earned it a good name in the GCC region and helped it capture a number of prestigious national and GGC awards in employing nationals. To this end, the company established a training centre to raise the skills and performance of its employees, Heraki adds. The company has also been honoured by His Majesty’s government for the third consecutive year for its Omanisation programme. “We are committed to providing a healthy milieu for our employees and encouraging them to provide professional service to our customers,” Khadr adds.

He further claims, “We believe that being the best leads not only to a healthy bottom line for the company, but it also means delivering the best customer service as well as the best value for the hard earned money spent by the consumer.”

Future Plans
The company has launched new schemes, including its new travel insurance policy, the ‘Navigator’ in Oman. The benefits of the insurance scheme include compensation on loss of luggage, sea and mountain rescue, repatriation if a family member passes away, and hospitalisation. This unique policy offers a bouquet of covers that include 22 services. It takes into consideration any possible misfortune a traveller may face. To meet the growing demand, the company has opened two more branches at Mawalih and Saham, informs Khadr. It has also launched an extensive health insurance policy which is currently being marketed.

With such new plans up its sleeve, Dhofar Insurance has comfortably positioned itself vis-à-vis the dawn of competition in the market. For the coming years its vision constitutes increasing its capital base and aiming to retain more shares in each risk.
 

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